LAKE PLACID — Lake Placid Central School officials are taking steps to address the issue of the wooden castle-style playground at the elementary school that may be leaching arsenic, a potentially harmful chemical.
Elementary school officials have implemented a hand-washing policy after recess to minimize children’s exposure to the chemical. Tests conducted by the Lake Placid News earlier this year revealed that trace amounts of arsenic, a potentially carcinogenic chemical used in pressure-treated wood up until 2004, were present on the playground. Studies suggest that washing students’ hands after touching chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood, minimizes hand-to-mouth ingestion of the chemical, which is the most common way children absorb arsenic.
According to elementary principal Rick Retrosi, the policy was put into place two weeks ago.
“We’ve asked every homeroom teacher to have every child, upon coming in from the playground to wash their hands with warm water and soap,” Retrosi said.
He said every class in the elementary school from kindergarten through fifth grade spends 20 to 30 minutes a day at recess outside, unless it’s pouring or is below zero.
“We decided it would be a really good idea to have kids wash their hands with warm water and soap after each playground visit,” Retrosi said. “It’s not a difficult thing to do.”
In addition to the hand-washing policy, the district recently conducted its own testing on the playground structure. John Warneck, the health and safety coordinator for the Jefferson and Lewis county BOCES, tested for arsenic Thursday, Oct. 2., by taking sample swipes from nine areas that would be regularly touched by children as well as several soil samples. Warneck said the samples were sent to Galson Labs in Syracuse for analysis and he expects the results in a week to 10 days.
Warneck said no other schools in his area have asked for arsenic testing and this is the first playground he has tested. He usually tests schools for things like lead, asbestos and mold.
“The bigger issue I have with playgrounds is that kids don’t get hurt on the them,” he said.
Although he couldn’t say what the extent of the chemical leaching is, Warneck did say that the crushed stone under the playground and swing area was a better choice than wood chips, which are commonly used, because it doesn’t absorb arsenic.
Warneck said once he receives the results of the testing he will prepare a report for district officials.
